Best of You
by gwenn0
Summary: A skilled and arrogant young Sarmatian Knight. A faithful and fair young Roman Commander. Loyalty between them will be born when they learn how to get the best of each other. Inspired by Best of You, from Foo Fighters. R&R! ON HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

_Hello, Dear Readers!_

_This will be a short story - I'm thinking about something around five chapters.  
It's an Arthur/Lancelot friendship piece inspired by_ Foo Fighters _song_ Best Of You _(the bold lines in the story are lines from the song) and it takes place at the end of the first year of the knights in Britain.  
__It's my first try with something longer, and it's a WIP, so any review will be more then appreciated!  
I really hope you enjoy to read this as much as I am enjoying to write!_

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing or no one. My beloved Lancelot follows me everywhere because he wants. I'm not forcing him to anything!  
**Author's Notes:** English is not my native language and I'm still leraning it, so feel free to help me pointing at any error you find!  
Many thanks to my lovely beta Jac! And if there's any error remaining, their mine!  
Any feedback will always be welcome, so please, review and let me know what you think!

_ps: this chapter was revised by my beta and reposted._

* * *

"_**I've got another confession to make: I'm your fool.  
Everyone's got their chains to break, holdin' you."**_

Watching the hard time Lancelot was giving to Dagonet at the practicing field, Kay felt proud of his sponsor. The boy had just turned sixteen, but was already one of the most skilled knights under Arthur's command. No one would ever believe that he had only trained in Britain for slightly less than a year. Even more remarkable was that he was the only one who could wield two swords skillfully. Kay was sure Lancelot could beat him already, but also knew better than tell the young man things like that. The only thing bigger than Lancelot's skills was Lancelot's pride, and the only thing sharper than Lancelot's twin blades was Lancelot's tongue. When Lancelot finally made Dagonet drop his axe, he crossed his twin blades at Dagonet's neck and winked at him.

"You're dead, I win."

Dagonet just rolled his eyes and picked up his axe. Dagonet was probably the largest of the knights, and his size was proportional to his patience. Kay smiled at them and called for Lancelot. Dagonet nodded at them and left. The dark-haired knight came, with a large smile for his friend – and though none of them liked this word, master - in truth, Kay was Lancelot's master and Lancelot was Kay's apprentice.

"I heard that your discharge papers will be here in few months, is that true?"

"Yes, Arthur just received the news from Rome. He said I won't need to go on the next missions, he doesn't want me to die so close to my freedom!"

"He said that? Well, he likes you."

"He's a good man, Lancelot."

"If you say so. But he's a Roman, so to me he's still a bastard."

"Arthur is Roman, but he's not Rome itself. You need to understand that if you want to survive here, boy!

"Be a good fighter is all I need to survive."

"Maybe to survive, yes. But if you want to live, if you want to have a life, you'll need to be a good knight. And to be a knight, you need to be a good fighter as well as good man. You're a good fighter, Lancelot, but you still have a lot to learn about being a man!"

" You should talk with my lady friends at the tavern then!" Lancelot winked at Kay, and the older knight just rolled his eyes.

"I'm serious boy! You need to focus your anger and your hate at those who really deserve it. Or your hate will be your cage and your anger will be your death! Like us, Arthur has no guilt about the deal our forefathers made with the Romans!"

"I know that! But still, I don't like the idea of being taken from my home to be a killer under some Roman bastard commander!

"Liking or not, Arthur is your commander, you own him some respect."

"Yeah, yeah… Now, what did you called me for?"

"I want to ask you something. Will you do this old knight one last favor young friend?"

"Sure! But I strongly doubt this will be the last thing you'll ask of me… You don't really know how to live without me anymore, do you?"

Kay smiled. Yes, leaving this young man behind wouldn't be an easy task.

"I want you to take my place at the battlefield. Arthur will need someone to watch his back until he find someone to replace me as his second in command."

Lancelot stared at him in silence for a while, he did not know how to answer. Honestly, Lancelot didn't give a damn about Arthur's back. He wondered how the Romans could rule the world if they were unable to watch their own asses. But he could not deny that it was an honour for one like him to be asked to do such an important task – and that it was an even greater more honour to be asked to replace Kay. And if Kay trusted him enough for that, then he would not disappoint his friend. He looked Kay in the eyes and nodded.

"I'll do that for you, my friend. For you."

Kay smiled at the young knight. He hoped one day Lancelot would watch Arthur's back because of Arthur, not because of him.

--o--

"_**Were you born to resist or be abused?"**_

Lancelot started to practice with Arthur. If he was to protect Arthur in the battlefield, then he needed to know all of the Roman's weaknesses. They practiced together everyday, and at the end of the first month, they already knew each other's style of fighting pretty well. They could predict each other's movements, like they were reading each other's mind. Their training was like a well-choreographed dance, but this wasn't the reason why everyone would gather around the practicing field to watch them. Although Arthur's skills with his Excalibur were impressive, it was Lancelot's ability in drive Arthur mad with his words the skill the other knights envied most.

As usual, Lancelot was giving Arthur a hard time, letting all his anger drive his actions. Lancelot had already questioned every single one of Arthur's beliefs and Arthur's blood was already boiling. Arthur couldn't understand why he was so hated by the knights, why he was so hated by Lancelot. He was a good commander, wasn't he? He tried to get close the knights, become their friend, but the only ones who did not reject him were Dagonet and Tristan. And even with them, Arthur was sure that they never said anything because they just didn't say anything at all. No matter how hard Arthur tried, he seemed to be unable to conquer these knights' trust.

Lancelot blocked Excalibur with his left sword, and with the right one struck hard, attacking Arthur. If Arthur had not turned in time, he would have risked getting beheaded.

"Hey! This is not for real, Lancelot! We're not fighting till death here!"

"Maybe you aren't."

"But you are? What will you do, kill your commander?"

"If my commander is the one between my freedom and me, then yes, I could do that!"

"I'm not the one keeping you from your freedom! We both are here to serve Rome, when your duty is over, you'll go home!"

"You mean if I live enough to see that day! We're here to kill and be killed!"

"You are here to fight! You're a knight, that's your purpose! And I'm your commander, I'm here to assure that you, all of you, will live enough to have your freedom back!"

"And why should I believe in your words? You're Roman!"

"I am not your enemy, Lancelot!"

"You'll have to prove it if you want me to believe in it!"

With that, Lancelot stormed out of the practice field, leaving Arthur wondering what in hell he needed to do to prove to his own knight he wasn't his enemy.

--o--

"_**Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?  
**__**Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?"**_


	2. Chapter 2

**First**, I wanna say thank you to Jac, who accepted be my beta for this story! The first chapter was revised too, so I reposted it.  
**Second**, thanks to YOU for read this, and special thanks for the reviews I received! They made me wanted to develop more the friendship between Arthur and Lancelot, and their personalities. But when I started to write this, I choose a structure where every scene was linked to a part of the song, and the song is not long enough for me to extend the story for more than five chapters. So I'll keep the structure, but I'll try to make longer chapters and I'll try my best to give you all a proper development of the characters in this short story!  
**Third**, sorry for the delay in updating, next time I'll start to look for a beta _before_ I start to post!

_Calliann_: Again, thank you for your support! I'm really glad you liked! I'm excited to show you how I think their friendship developed! In this chapter, Kay will plant some seeds, and in the next ones, Arthur and Lancelot will harvest them. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

_Lancey_: Thanks for your review! I hope you had liked the first chapter, and enjoy this one as well!

_KnightGuardian_: I'm glad you liked the beginning of my story! You described Lancelot's thoughts perfectly; this is exactly how I'm writing him! But Kay is there to show Lance that things are not that simple. I'm glad you liked my young version of Lancelot! He still has a lot to learn, but he's already arrogant and sarcastic - he's Lancelot after all!

_Cardeia_: Thanks for your suggestion! My word processor didn't have support for English, but now I found another one, and it really helped me to write this chapter! I'm glad you're enjoying my young Lancelot! He's my favorite knight, and I'm having lots of fun trying to imagine his young mind processing the world around him!

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing or no one. My beloved Lancelot follows me everywhere because he wants. I'm not forcing him to anything!  
**Author's Notes:** English is not my native language and I'm still learning it, so feel free to help me pointing at any error you find!  
Many thanks to my lovely beta Jac! And if there are any errors remaining, they're mine!  
The bold lines in the story belong to _Best of You_, from _Foo Fighters._  
Any feedback will always be welcome, so please, review and let me know what you think!

* * *

"_**Are you gone and onto someone new?"  
**_

Arthur looked at the man in front of him; a knight who had first served under his father's command, and now was his own second in command. Kay was just a young boy training to become a knight when he was sent to Britain, and in his first battle at Hadrian's Wall, Arthur's father had died in his arms. Now, it was Arthur's first year as a young man trying his best to be a great commander. Kay's fifteen years were over, and the knight was packing his things to leave back home the next morning. Arthur had known the knight almost his whole life, and knew his life wouldn't be easy without the older man. Kay was the last of the older knights; when he left, Arthur would be alone to command a group of thirty young Samartian knights who still hated the Romans and didn't trust Arthur at all – just because Arthur was a Roman commander.

"You worry yourself too much, Commander!"

Arthur was brought back from his thoughts by Kay's words and smiled at him from where he was sitting, at the chair beside Kay's bed.

"Don't worry, Lancelot will watch your back, at least until you find a new Second."

"Yeah, I know. He'd been practicing with me for almost three months now… but are you sure he's the best one to be at my side? He's really skilled with those twin blades, but the boy is too quick tempered!"

"Of course he's skilled! I am his sponsor, I taught him everything he knows!" Kay gave Arthur an open smiled and sat at his own bed. "And he's one of your knights. Sooner or later you'll have to learn to deal with his mood… actually, with the moods of all of them! The sooner, the better, Arthur!"

"He has a tongue as sharpen as his blades!"

"I know! The boy is good, isn't he?"

"I'm serious, Kay! How can I have him as my second?"

"So you are thinking about name Lancelot your second, eh?"

"I've been thinking about that, now that we are practicing together. I saw him with the other knights and he has a natural leadership among them... but he's always questioning me, facing me, confronting me!"

"Is that bad to be questioned?"

"But all the time, every single word I say? It is not exactly pleasant! But at the same time I just can't ignore him, I'm always compelled to answer him…"

"Answer? You mean yell back! Your discussions and arguments are already becoming an attraction at the fort! Maybe you should not pay so much attention to Lancelot's offenses."

"I know, and I'm trying! But he's not like the others, them I can manage to overlook or let go of their offenses; I feel like I own Lancelot some kind of response, an urge to answer right away… "

"Lancelot draws people to him, and he's not easy to ignore… I guess that's why the other knights would choose him to speak for them, and this single aspect would made him be an excellent second in command for you! But he's hot tempered, strong head and stubborn as a donkey! If you choose him, you must be ready to deal with that!"

"I couldn't have described him better!"

Arthur and Kay shared a good laugh at that. Then Arthur stood up and headed for the door.

"I know he's not an easy person, but I'm sure that if you give him a chance, he won't disappoint you."

Leaning at the doorframe, Arthur eyed Kay closely.

"You really like him, don't you?"

"How can I not? He's just like me when I was his age!"

"Yeah, but I don't recall you being so requested by the ladies at the tavern as he is!" Arthur could still hear the older man's laugh when he closed the door behind him, and a small smile formed in his face.

--o--

"_**I needed somewhere to hang my head without your noose  
You gave me something that I didn't have but had no use"**_

Kay's horse was all ready to leave, just waiting for his master. Kay had said his good-byes to all the knights, and then headed for the stables, Lancelot following him. Although his heart had the happy feeling of being free, Kay's heart was a little sad in leave behind the boy he had grown to love like one of his own. Lancelot was only in the first of his fifteen years under his service to Rome, and Kay knew that the boy's life would not be easy – just like his had not been.

"I guess is time to go! Take care of yourself, boy! I want to meet you again in fifteen years when you return home!"

Lancelot smiled at the older man, trying to fight the sadness of seeing his friend leaving - Kay was going home after all! He was free! Free… the word danced in Lancelot's mind. Would he be free one day? No, this was not time to think about the future.

"Aye! You too my friend! Find a nice woman, get married and have a beautiful daughter so I can marry her and call you father!"

"Like I would let a daughter of mine marry a cocky bastard like you!"

The two shared a bout of laughter, like they had so often before.

"Now be serious boy, you'll keep your promise, right?"

"Yes, I'll watch the damn Roman's back…"

Lancelot rolled his eyes and Kay smiled.

"Speaking of him, where's Arthur? I didn't get to say good-bye to him yet…"

"The bastard is in his office, he had a meeting with some other Romans. But he's probably finishing already, he'll be here to see you leave."

"So now you know every step of your commander, eh?"

"Yeah, some silly old knight made me swear I would keep one eye on him, so now I'm attached to Arthur!"

"You will be attached to him for the next fourteen years, until the end of your days under Roman service, so you better be used with the idea! Accept the fact: Arthur is your commander!"

"I don't give a damn about him!"

"If you don't care, why you question him so much? Why is it so important for you to drive insane someone you don't give a damn for?

Lancelot opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say. In truth, he had no idea why he spent so much time with Arthur. He only knew that he needed answers, and whether he liked or not, Arthur was the only one who would listen to him and give him some response – other than beat him up like the other Romans around. Kay smiled, knowing he had achieved his point, and rested a hand on Lancelot's shoulder.

"Rome may be our enemy, but Arthur himself is not! Stop looking at the Empire as a whole and look at the man. Arthur is much better than his beloved Rome - and I trust you to help him and the others to see that!"

Lancelot could only nod in response. Kay's trust was something he treasured, and he wouldn't risk to loose it at his lasts moments with his friend in Britain.

"Fine, I'll think about it, all right? It's the best I can promise! I don't want to argue with you because of that Roman."

"Neither would this Roman want such a thing."

Kay and Lancelot turned to see Arthur entering the stables, a warm smile in his face.

"I'm glad I caught you! I was afraid you could leave without I had the chance to say good-bye!"

"Actually, I was just waiting for you! Now that you're here, I can go!"

Kay gave Lancelot a warm embrace, and turned to Arthur, whispering in his ear while he embraced the Roman.

"Is not bad to be questioned, and Lancelot is not the only one looking for answers."

Kay mounted his horse and looked down at the two men standing in front of him. Arthur gave him a quizzical look and Kay smiled.

"Are you giving the answers to him or to yourself?"

Kay winked to Arthur and turned to Lancelot.

"And you, boy, remember: look at the man!"

Lancelot just nodded and watched as Kay urged his horse and left the stables. Before pass through the gates, Kay looked back and stared as the two young knights walked away together. He knew that Arthur and Lancelot were a perfect match, and he had done everything he could to put them together. But now they were by their own, and Kay could only pray for the Goddess to help those two stubborn young knights to really see each other.


	3. Chapter 3

Oh my sweet goddess, more than a month since my last update in this story? I'm really sorry for that!  
I just realized that I wrote this third chapter few weeks ago, but it's not beta-ed yet…  
Against my best judgments, I decided to take the risk and post it this way – I just hope my English is not that bad!

_Calliann:_ I'm glad you're enjoying this story as well as my drabbles! But I must confess that write drabbles is a whole lot easier, at least to me!  
This chapter is somehow a turning point in the story, and I hope you like it! And just to let you curious, we'll see a bit of Tristan in the next chapter, that I'll start to write as soon as I finish here! _(winks)_

_Cardeia:_ Oh, gods! You touched my weak spot in your review… I really don't know how to insert anything else during the dialogues! I guess it's because I'm used to write screenplays, where the description of the actions and the dialogues are separated… In this chapter I don't have dialogues, but I tried to add some actions between the thoughts of the characters… In the next chapter (that I'm already writing, so I hope I won't take a month to post) I'll try to focus on this matter. I know it's something I need to improve in my writing style, and I'm working on it!  
Oh! And I just read your _Merciful God_, and it reminded me a lot of what happen in this chapter! (Actually, it was when I read your story that I remembered I didn't post this chapter yet!). Thanks, dear! Really! _(winks)

* * *

_

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing or no one. My beloved Lancelot follows me everywhere because he wants. I'm not forcing him to anything!  
**Author's Notes:** English is not my native language and I'm still learning it, so feel free to help me pointing at any error you find!  
Any feedback will always be welcome, so please, review and let me know what you think!  
This story is inspired by the song _Best of You_, from Foo Fighters, and the bold lines belong to the song.

-o-

_**I was too weak to give in, too strong to lose  
My heart is under arrest again but I break loose**_

Arthur was laid in his bed, staring at the ceiling and thinking about what to do. Kay was gone. What now? How would he keep his Sarmatian Knights under control without the older man's help? He knew he needed to conquer the men's trust, but he had no idea how. Arthur felt himself as slave as the knights, once he would only be free to go to Rome when their fifteen years were over. Moreover, there was nothing Arthur wanted more than go to Rome – and meet Pelagius, the last one Arthur could call family. Arthur could understand the longing the knights felt from their home and their family; he felt the same way about Rome and Pelagius - although he had been in Rome just once, with his father. If Arthur could understand the way his knights felt, why was so hard to them to even try to understand Arthur's point of view? He rubbed a hand in his eyes; his head was starting to ache. Why at least once things couldn't be easy with those Sarmatians?

"Damn!"

Arthur closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He needed to choose a man to be his new Second in Command. But who? It needed to be someone he entirely trusted – someone all the knights entirely trusted. Trust. That seemed to be his biggest problem recently. Or better, the lack if it. And Arthur didn't really understand why they didn't trust him. He could understand the anger – their freedom had been taken from them – but Arthur himself wasn't the one to blame, was he? Was he the one between the knights and their freedom? No. He was the one who was there to assure the knights would survive to see their freedom. He had no fault about their past, but would take full responsibility on their future. And that was what he needed to show them, what he needed to make them believe. Arthur would give his best to be their guarantee of life, not of death. He would do everything he could to protect these men, even give his own life. Arthur sighed in relief. He still had no idea about how to keep the men under control, but at least his heart was sure about what path to follow. Arthur let a small smile form in his face; he was questioning himself too much lately, sometimes he was almost sounding like…

"Lancelot!"

Whispering the young knight's name, Arthur sat in his bed. He blinked and took another deep breath. Suddenly, everything was making sense.

"_Is not bad to be questioned, and Lancelot is not the only one looking for answers. Are you giving the answers to him or to yourself?"_

Kay's words were once again in his mind, but this time they carried a whole new world of meanings. That was what Kay was talking! How didn't he realize that before? Lancelot was always questioning Arthur to make him see things from the knights' point of view - that Arthur had already understood. What Arthur had just realized was his needing in answer Lancelot. While answering the knight's questions, Arthur was answering himself. To face Lancelot's intense eyes and sharpened tongue, Arthur needed to be confident about what he was saying. When Lancelot asked all those hard questions, he made Arthur ask those same questions to himself; and giving the young knight the answers, Arthur was proving himself how much he believed his own words.

Arthur ran his hands through his hair. Lancelot was the one he needed at his side to keep him aware of how much he trusted his own beliefs – and how far he would go for them. Arthur was used to train with Lancelot, so they knew each other's weaknesses in battle; spending all this time together, Lancelot was the closest to Arthur among the knights, and they were learning to deal with each other – the hardest way, but they were improving. Lancelot also had some leadership among the men, and certainly had their trust. Yes, Lancelot was the perfect choice to be Arthur's Second in Command. Arthur sighed again. Would Lancelot accept his offer? There was just one way to find out, so Arthur left his room, searching for the young knight.

-o-

_**My head is giving me life or death but I can't choose  
I swear I'll never give in, I refuse**_

Lancelot stormed towards his room. He was furious at Arthur. He slammed the door behind him - with such a strength that the door almost broke - and started to pace furiously from end to end in his room. Maybe furious was not enough to say how much anger Lancelot was feeling for Arthur. How dared that bastard Roman ask for Lancelot's trust and loyalty like that, out of the blue? Be his Second… If Arthur really wanted to be trusted by Lancelot and the other knights, he would have to conquer their trust with actions, not buying Lancelot's with some stupid promotion! But what else could Lancelot expect? That was the Roman way to act.

"Roman Bastard!"

Roman – that was the worse offense Lancelot could think of at that moment. They were Lancelot's enemies. Trust a Roman would be betray his own kind. They had taken him from his home and brought him to throw away his life fighting a war that was not his. They had done the same with Lancelot's forefathers and they would do so with Lancelot's heirs. Yet, Arthur refused to see how filthy and corrupted Rome was! No matter how hard Lancelot tried, how loud he yelled, he seemed to be unable to make Arthur sees the truth about his beloved city. One day Arthur would finally understand the difference between his beliefs and the real world around him, and the shock would break the man – not that Lancelot cared.

"_If you don't care, why do you question him so much? Why would be so important for you drive insane someone you don't give a damn to?_

Lancelot growled. Damn Kay and his stupid questions! Running a hand through his hair, Lancelot stopped to pace, sitting is his bed. He never felt so confused nor so alone before. It was useless keep denying to himself: he cared for Arthur. He hated himself for that, but he was starting to see the damn Roman with different eyes. He'd been fighting the unwelcome friendship that was growing between them lately, but certainly was not having any success at it. He was learning to know the other man, and was quite fond of the time they were spending together. He knew he didn't waste his time questioning Arthur just for fun; although it was amusing see the always so moderate Arthur loosing his control at Lancelot's words, there was something else. Lancelot needed those answers. Unlike the other knights, Lancelot didn't believe in any god, goddess or religion; the only thing he believed was himself. But – and this was something he would never admit to anyone – when he returned from battle badly injured for the first time, he found out that believe just in himself wouldn't be enough. He needed to believe in something else, and even against his will, Lancelot's heart made a choice for him. Arthur. Deep in his heart, Lancelot wanted to believe in Arthur's words, he wanted to believe he was fighting for something worth of his life. But Lancelot's mind had already seen too much to believe in a world of peace and equality, as the one Arthur talked about.

"_Look at the man!"_

Running a hand through his hair, he sighed. Once again, Kay's words were echoing in his mind. The man. What kind of man was Arthur? That kind of fool who would believe in fairy-tales. Lancelot mentally snapped himself; this time he wouldn't just put his thoughts away. He would really reflect about that – he owned Arthur at least an answer, after all. He tried again. What he saw when he looked at Arthur? Lancelot saw a man who held his beliefs and his principles close to his heart. A man who would die for everything he believed – and he believed was his duty to protect the men under his command, so he would die for them. Lancelot took a deep breath. He could not believe in Arthur's perfect world or follow his beliefs. However, he could believe in the man Arthur was, and could follow the man's leading. Arthur deserved at least a chance, and Lancelot was ready to give him that.

Lancelot stood up and started to pace again, this time slower. Lancelot knew that if he gave Arthur a chance, the other knights would follow him. This trust the other knights had placed in Lancelot was reason of pride for the dark-haired knight, and he wouldn't disappoint his fellows. Arthur knew about the undeclared leadership Lancelot had among the other knights, and Lancelot asked himself if Arthur wasn't trying to use him to conquer the others' trust. He stopped in front of the mirror in the wall of his room and stared at his own eyes. Raising an eyebrow to his reflected image, Lancelot snapped himself again. Arthur was an honored man.

"He trusts me."

-o-

_**Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?**_


End file.
